Automatic assignment of locations to mobile units via a back-end application computer server

ABSTRACT

A back-end application computer server may access a location data store containing information about a set of locations to be visited, including location identifiers and location coordinates. The computer server may then prioritize the locations to be visited. A mobile unit data store may contain information about a set of mobile units, including mobile unit identifiers, mobile unit location coordinates, and mobile unit communication addresses. The computer server may then automatically assign each location to a mobile unit based on the location coordinates, the mobile unit location coordinates, at least one geo-fence, and said prioritization. Indications of assigned locations may be transmitted to each mobile unit via the associated mobile unit communication address, and electronic messages may be exchanged to support an interactive user interface display associated with assignments of locations to mobile units. According to some embodiments, the back-end computer server facilitates collection of location information from mobile devices.

BACKGROUND

In some cases, an enterprise may want mobile units to visit variouslocations. For example, an enterprise might want a set of mobile unitsto visit a set of geographic locations so they can determine and/orverify information about those locations, and attempt to assign variouslocations to different mobile units in a logical manner (e.g., to reducean amount of travel that would be required by each mobile unit).Manually reviewing the mobile units and locations to be visited,however, can be a time-consuming and error prone task, especially whenthere are a substantial number of locations and/or mobile units thatneed to be monitored (e.g., an enterprise might need to assign hundredsof locations) and/or the information that needs to be evaluated changeson a relatively frequent basis (e.g., on a daily or even an hourlybasis).

It would therefore be desirable to provide systems and methods toautomatically assign locations to mobile units in a way that results infaster, more efficient performance and that allows for flexibility andeffectiveness when reviewing those assignments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to some embodiments, systems, methods, apparatus, computerprogram code and means to automatically assign locations to mobileunits. In some embodiments, a back-end application computer server mayaccess a location data store containing information about a set oflocations to be visited, including location identifiers and locationcoordinates. The computer server may then prioritize the locations to bevisited. A mobile unit data store may contain information about a set ofmobile units, including mobile unit identifiers, mobile unit locationcoordinates, and mobile unit communication address. The computer servermay then automatically assign each location to a mobile unit based onthe location coordinates, the mobile unit location coordinates, a leastone geo-fence established to define a region, and said prioritization.Indications of assigned locations may be transmitted to each mobile unitvia the associated mobile unit communication address and electronicmessages may be exchanged to support an interactive user interfacedisplay associated with assignments of locations to mobile units.According to some embodiments, the computer server may facilitate acollection of location information from the mobile devices.

Some embodiments comprise: means for accessing a location data storecontaining information about a set of locations to be visited,including, for each location to be visited, a location identifier andlocation coordinates; means for prioritizing, by the back-endapplication computer server, the set of locations to be visited; meansfor accessing a mobile unit data store containing information about aset of mobile units, including, for each mobile unit, a mobile unitidentifier, mobile unit location coordinates, and mobile unitcommunication address; means for establishing at least one geo-fencedefining a region; means for automatically assigning, by the back-endapplication computer server, each location to a mobile unit based atleast in part on the location coordinates, the mobile unit locationcoordinates, the geo-fence, and said prioritization; means fortransmitting indications of assigned locations to be visited to eachmobile unit via the associated mobile unit communication address; andmeans for exchanging electronic messages, via a distributedcommunication network, to support at least one interactive userinterface display associated with assignments of locations to mobileunits, wherein the back-end application computer server facilitates acollection of location data from the assigned mobile units.

In some embodiments, a communication device associated with a back-endapplication computer server exchanges information with remote devices.The information may be exchanged, for example, via public and/orproprietary communication networks.

Technical effects of some embodiments of the invention are improved andcomputerized ways to utilize a decision making model that generatesfaster, more accurate identifications of electronic records for asupplemental review process and that allows for flexibility andeffectiveness when reviewing those assignments. With these and otheradvantages and features that will become hereinafter apparent, a morecomplete understanding of the nature of the invention can be obtained byreferring to the following detailed description and to the drawingsappended hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of a system according to someembodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method according to some embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagram of an insurance enterprise systemaccording to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 4 through 10 illustrate smartphone claims adjuster displays inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate desktop insurance enterprise displays thatmight be associated with various embodiments.

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate tablet client displays in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates a method according to some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an apparatus in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a portion of a tabular location database in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 18 is a portion of a tabular mobile unit database in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a portion of a tabular assignment database in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 20 illustrates a system having a predictive model in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 21 illustrates an overall insurance enterprise workflow inaccordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides significant technical improvements tofacilitate electronic messaging and dynamic data processing. The presentinvention is directed to more than merely a computer implementation of aroutine or conventional activity previously known in the industry as itsignificantly advances the technical efficiency, access and/or accuracyof communications between devices by implementing a specific new methodand system as defined herein. The present invention is a specificadvancement in the area of location assignments by providing benefits indata accuracy, data availability, and data integrity and such advancesare not merely a longstanding commercial practice. The present inventionprovides improvement beyond a mere generic computer implementation as itinvolves the processing and conversion of significant amounts of data ina new beneficial manner as well as the interaction of a variety ofspecialized client and/or third party systems, networks, and subsystems.For example, in the present invention locations may be automaticallyassigned to mobile units taking into account a wide variety ofconsiderations, thus improving the overall performance of the systemassociated with travel requirements and/or response time considerations(e.g., by reducing an overall amount of travel). Moreover, embodimentsassociated with automatic prioritizations and/or assignments mightfurther improve communication network performance, user interactions,real time chat or telephone call center responsiveness (e.g., by betterpreparing and/or allocating mobile units in cases of widespread need),etc.

An enterprise may want mobile units to visit various locations. Forexample, an enterprise might want a set of mobile units to visit a setof buildings so they can determine and/or verify information about thosebuildings, and attempt to assign various buildings to different mobileunits in a logical manner (e.g., to reduce an amount of travel thatwould be required by each mobile unit). Manually reviewing the mobileunits and buildings to be visited, however, can be a time-consuming anderror prone task, especially when there are a substantial number ofbuildings and/or mobile units that need to be monitored (e.g., anenterprise might need to assign hundreds of different buildings tomobile units) and/or the information that needs to be evaluated changeson a relatively frequent basis (e.g., on a daily or even an hourlybasis).

It would be desirable to provide systems and methods to utilize aprioritization and assignment process that generates faster, moreefficient performance and that allows for flexibility and effectivenesswhen reviewing those assignments. FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagramof a system 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention.In particular, the system 100 includes a back-end application computerserver 150 that may access information in a location data store 110(e.g., storing a set of electronic records representing locations to bevisited, each record including one or more location identifiers,location coordinates, communication addresses, attribute variables,record characteristic values, etc.). The back-end application computerserver 150 may also exchange information with a remote administratorcomputer 160 (e.g., via a firewall 120). According to some embodiments,a prioritization and assignment engine 155 of the back-end applicationcomputer server 150 may access information in a mobile unit data store120 (e.g., including location coordinates of various mobile units),prioritize and/or assign various locations to each mobile unit asappropriate, and transmit indications of those assignments to mobileunit devices 130 and/or the remote administrator computer 160. Note thatembodiments may be associated with periodic (or asynchronous) types ofprioritization, assignment, and/or scheduling. Further note that theback-end application computer server 150 might be associated with athird party, such as a vendor that performs a service for an enterprise.

The back-end application computer server 150 might be, for example,associated with a Personal Computer (“PC”), laptop computer, smartphone,an enterprise server, a server farm, and/or a database or similarstorage devices. According to some embodiments, an “automated” back-endapplication computer server 150 may automatically prioritize and/orassign the location data store 110. As used herein, the term “automated”may refer to, for example, actions that can be performed with little (orno) intervention by a human.

As used herein, devices, including those associated with the back-endapplication computer server 150 and any other device described hereinmay exchange information via any communication network which may be oneor more of a Local Area Network (“LAN”), a Metropolitan Area Network(“MAN”), a Wide Area Network (“WAN”), a proprietary network, a PublicSwitched Telephone Network (“PSTN”), a Wireless Application Protocol(“WAP”) network, a Bluetooth network, a wireless LAN network, and/or anInternet Protocol (“IP”) network such as the Internet, an intranet, oran extranet. Note that any devices described herein may communicate viaone or more such communication networks.

The back-end application computer server 150 may store information intoand/or retrieve information from the location data store 110 and/or themobile unit device store 120. The location data store 110 might, forexample, store electronic records representing an entities potentialliability associations with various parties, each electronic recordbeing associated with a different location identifier, locationcoordinates, communication address, record characteristic values,attribute variables, etc. The location data store 110 may also containinformation about past and current interactions with parties, includingthose associated with remote communication devices. The location datastore 110 may be locally stored or reside remote from the back-endapplication computer server 150. As will be described further below, thelocation data store 110 may be used by the back-end application computerserver 150 to automatically prioritize and/or assign locations to mobileunits. Although a single back-end application computer server 150 isshown in FIG. 1, any number of such devices may be included. Moreover,various devices described herein might be combined according toembodiments of the present invention. For example, in some embodiments,the back-end application computer server 150, location data store 110,and/or mobile unit data store 120 might be co-located and/or maycomprise a single apparatus.

According to some embodiments, the system 100 may automaticallyprioritize and/or assign locations to mobile devices via the automatedback-end application computer server 150. For example, at (1) the remoteadministrator computer 160 may request that a batch of locations beassigned to mobile units (e.g., at the start of a workday). At (2), theback-end application computer server 150 may access location informationfrom the location data store 110 and prioritize those locations (e.g.,locations that have been waiting the longest to be visited by a mobileunit might be given higher priorities). At (3), the prioritization andassignment engine 155 may access information in the mobile unit datastore 120 and assign each location to an appropriate mobile unit (e.g.,to minimize an amount that each mobile unit will need to travel to visiteach assigned location), and indications of these assignments may betransmitted to mobile unit devices 130 at (4) and/or the remoteadministrator computer 160 at (5).

Note that the system 100 of FIG. 1 is provided only as an example, andembodiments may be associated with additional elements or components.According to some embodiments, the elements of the system 100automatically support interactive user interface displays over adistributed communication network. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates amethod 200 that might be performed by some or all of the elements of thesystem 100 described with respect to FIG. 1, or any other system,according to some embodiments of the present invention. The flow chartsdescribed herein do not imply a fixed order to the steps, andembodiments of the present invention may be practiced in any order thatis practicable. Note that any of the methods described herein may beperformed by hardware, software, or any combination of these approaches.For example, a computer-readable storage medium may store thereoninstructions that when executed by a machine result in performanceaccording to any of the embodiments described herein.

At S210, an automated back-end application computer server may access alocation data store containing information about a set of locations tobe visited, including, for each location to be visited, a locationidentifier and location coordinates. At S220, the automated back-endapplication computer server may prioritize the set of locations to bevisited (e.g., with the most important locations receiving higherpriorities). The priorities might be based on, for example, an urgencyassociated with the location, an amount of time the location has beenwaiting to be visited by a mobile unit, etc.

At S230, the automated back-end computer server may access a mobile unitdata store containing information about a set of mobile units,including, for each mobile unit, a mobile unit identifier, mobile unitlocation coordinates, and mobile unit communication address. As usedherein, the phrases “location coordinate” and/or “mobile unit locationcoordinate” might refer to, for example, a postal address, a ZIP code,Global Positioning System (“GPS”) information, latitude and longitudevalues, mobile telephone location data (e.g., indicating the nearestcell phone tower), etc.

At S240, one or more geo-fences may be established, with each geo-fencedefining a region. For example, a geo-fence might be constructed aroundeach location (e.g., based on how far a mobile unit would need to travelto reach the location, how long it would take a mobile unit to reach thelocation, etc.). In this case, when a mobile unit moves within thatparticular geo-fence, a message might be transmitted to that mobile unitasking if an assignment to the location would be acceptable.

At S250, the system may automatically assign each location to a mobileunit based at least in part on the location coordinates, the mobile unitlocation coordinates, and the prioritization performed at S220.According to some embodiments, this assignment process includestransmitting a first assignment request to a first mobile unit and, ifthe first mobile unit accepts the first request, assigning the locationto be visited to the first mobile unit. If the first mobile unit doesnot accept the first request, the system may transmit a secondassignment request to a second mobile unit. Note that the assignmentmight be based on a current location of a mobile unit, a defaultlocation (e.g., a home office address), or a future predicted location.For example, if the system is aware that a particular mobile unit willbe visiting a particular location later in the day, the location of thatparticular location might be used to select other nearby locations forthat mobile unit (e.g., creating a “chain” or sequence of locations tobe visited).

At S260, the system may transmit indications of assigned locations to bevisited to each mobile unit via the associated mobile unit communicationaddress. For example, the back-end application computer server mighttransmit an indication via a mobile telephone number, a vehicleidentifier, a user identifier (e.g., associated with a user name andpassword), an IP address, a device identifier associated with a pushmessage registration, etc.

At S270, a communication port coupled to the back-end applicationcomputer server may facilitate an exchange of electronic messages, via adistributed communication network, supporting at least one interactiveuser interface display associated with assignments of locations tomobile units. The interactive user interface display might be associatedwith, for example, a mobile unit, a client associated with a location tobe visited, and/or an enterprise associated with the set of mobileunits. According to some embodiments, the back-end application computerserver might facilitate a collection of location data from mobiledevices (e.g., a mobile devices might transmit images, video, text,voice memos, directly from a location to be stored via a cloudapplication).

Note that embodiments described herein may be utilized by differenttypes of enterprises. For example, FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagramof an insurance enterprise system 300 according to some embodiments ofthe present invention. As before, the system 300 includes an insuranceenterprise back-end application computer server 350 that may access aninsurance claim data store 310 (e.g., each record representing alocation associated with an insurance claim and including one or moreclaim identifiers, location coordinates, communication addresses,characteristic values, attribute variables, etc.). The information inthe insurance claim data store 310 might be based at least in part, forexample, on information received from client devices 340 (e.g., asclients report damage to properties). The back-end application computerserver 350 may also exchange information with a remote insuranceenterprise operator 360 (e.g., via a firewall 320). According to someembodiments, a dispatch engine 355 of the back-end application computerserver 350 may prioritize insurance claims. By way of example, apriority value P might be calculated for each insurance claim asfollows:

$P = {\left( {{CVW}\frac{ECV}{ACV}} \right) \times \left( {{DVW}\frac{DW}{ADW}} \right) \times \left( {{TOW}\frac{TCO}{ATCO}} \right)}$

where ACV is an average claim value for a given area, ECV is anestimated claim value, CVW is a claim value weighting, ADW is an averagedamage weighting, DW is a damage weighting (e.g., with 1 representinginsignificant, 2 representing customer inconvenience, 3 representing asafety concern or a potential of further damage), DVW is a damage valueweighting, ATCO is an average claim open time, TCO is a time claim open,and TOW is a time open weighting. Note that embodiments described hereinmight be associated with any type of claim damage, including physicaldamage to property, medical injuries, etc.

The dispatch engine 355 may also facilitate an assignment of thoseinsurance claims to insurance claims adjusters based on information in aclaims adjuster data store 320. Indications of those assignments maythen be transmitted to claims adjuster smartphones 330, client devices340, and/or the insurance enterprise operator 360. According to someembodiments, the interactive user interface display is associated withthe client who submitted the insurance claim and includes a mapcontaining information about the claims adjuster assigned to theinsurance claim (and selection of an icon associated with the claimsadjuster results in a display of detailed information about that claimsadjuster). According to other embodiments, the interactive userinterface display is associated with the claim adjuster and includes amap containing information about a plurality of insurance claims (andselection of an icon associated with a particular insurance claimresults in a display of detailed information about that particularinsurance claim). According to still other embodiments, interactive userinterface display is associated with the insurance enterprise andincludes a map containing information about a plurality of claimsadjusters (and selection of an icon associated with a particular claimsadjuster results in a display of detailed information about thatparticular claims adjuster). Still other embodiments might automaticallycalculate a payment amount for a claims adjuster and/or facilitateprocessing of payment. For example, a priority claim bonus might beprovided to a claims adjuster in addition to the amount listed on theNational Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) fee schedule published by theFederal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”). According to someembodiments, claims adjusters might be compensated and/or prioritized(e.g., with high-priority adjusters being more likely to be assignedclaim locations) based on ratings provided by customers (e.g.,indicating how satisfied each customer was with his or her claimsadjuster).

The back-end application computer server 350 might be, for example,associated with a PC, laptop computer, smartphone, an enterprise server,a server farm, and/or a database or similar storage devices. Devices,including those associated with the back-end application computer server350 and any other device described herein, may exchange information viaany communication network which may be one or more of a LAN, a MAN, aWAN, a proprietary network, a PSTN, a WAP network, a Bluetooth network,a wireless LAN network, and/or an IP network such as the Internet, anintranet, or an extranet.

According to some embodiments, the back-end application computer server350 receives, from each client, rating information about the assignedclaims adjuster. For example, each client might indicate whether or nothe or she was satisfied with the service performed by the claimsadjuster. The back-end application computer server 350 might alsoreceive, from each claims adjuster, insurance claim informationincluding text comprising insurance claim notes, images, and/or audioinformation. According to some embodiments, information about theinsurance claims in the insurance claims data store may be dynamicallycollected via an email received by an email server, information provideda web interface, an Interactive Voice Response (“IVR”) system associatedwith a telephone call center, a chat application that interacts with aparty in substantially real time, and/or a video link with clients. Asused herein, insurance claim information may be “dynamically” collectedfrom claimants during the day (e.g., as claims adjusters are drivingaround visiting claims locations) and may be handled in an automated andefficient way. After insurance claims are resolved, the back-endapplication computer server 350 may further periodically monitorperformance outcomes (e.g., customer satisfaction) and automaticallyadjust prioritization and or assignment algorithms in the dispatchengine 355.

According to some embodiments, a claims adjuster may sign into asmartphone application to view his or her assigned claims for the day,which have been optimized for minimal travel distance within a certainregion. For example, FIGS. 4 through 10 illustrate smartphone claimsadjuster displays in accordance with some embodiments. In particular,FIG. 4 includes a smartphone 400 with a login display 410 that a claimsadjuster can use to enter his or her username 420 and password 430 tologin 440 to an insurance enterprise system. When the claims adjusterselects login 440 (and his or her username and password are verified), awelcome display might be provided. For example, FIG. 5 includes asmartphone 500 with a welcome display 510 according to some embodiments.The welcome display 510 might let the claims adjusted view claims 520,settings 530 (e.g., how many locations he or she is willing to visiteach day), and/or logout 540 from the insurance enterprise system.

If the claims adjuster selects the “Claims” icon 520, an active claimsdisplay might be provided. For example, FIG. 6 includes a smartphone 600with an active claims display 610 in accordance with some embodiments.The display 610 includes a list 620 of all insurance claims that arecurrently assigned to the claims adjuster. According to someembodiments, the display 610 further includes selections to view“Active” claims 630 (illustrated in FIG. 6), “Available” claims 640(illustrated in FIG. 7), and a map of claims 650 (illustrated in FIG.8). That is, selection of the “Available” claims results in theavailable claims display 710 of FIG. 7, including a list 720 of all ofthe insurance claims that are currently available in his or her area.The claims adjuster can then select claims from the list 720 to assignthat claim to his or her active work queue. Similarly, selection of themap of claims results in the map display 810 of FIG. 8, including acurrent location vehicle icon 820 and indication the insurance claims inhis or her area (illustrated with an “X” in FIG. 8). According to someembodiments, other information might be provided on the map, such as acurrent location of a tow truck, repairman, etc. The claims adjuster canthen select claims from the map display 810 to view more informationabout those claims.

FIG. 9 includes a smartphone 900 with a claim information display 910 inaccordance with some embodiments. The claim information display 910includes claim details 920, such as a claimant name, address, telephonenumber, claim number claim date, claim type, claim status, etc. Theclaims adjuster may select an “Add Claim Notes” icon 930 to providefurther information about the insurance claim. For example, FIG. 10includes a smartphone 1000 with a claim notes display 1010 that a claimsadjuster can use to provide additional information 1020 about aninsurance claim. According to some embodiments, the claims adjustermight select 1030 to add a text note, a voice-to-text note, and/or aphotograph (e.g., captured with the smartphone's 1000 camera). As otherexample, the display 1010 might support uploading, to a cloud-basedapplication, video information, weather information (e.g., atemperature, noise level, wind speed, barometric pressure, etc.), andenvironmental quality information (e.g., air quality, watercontamination, etc.).

According to some embodiments, as a claims adjuster travels from oneclaim to another, if his or her geo-location bisects the geospatialregion of another claim, the adjuster will be notified about that claimvia a push notification to his or her mobile phone, vehicle display etc.The claims adjuster might then have a set period of time to accept (orreject) that claim. If the claim is not accepted, the system may locatethe next closest adjuster and attempt to assign the claim to them. Whena claims adjuster accepts a claim, the client may be notified that hisor her claim has been assigned along with an Estimated Time of Arrival(“ETA”). When the adjuster is en route to the claim location, theclient's mobile application may receive push notifications and be ableto track the current location of the claims adjuster along with theadjuster's name, picture, and/or vehicle information. Note that the ETAinformation may be pushed to the insured's device with automated updatesas conditions change (e.g., traffic conditions). After the insuranceclaim is serviced, the client's mobile app may provide the ability torate the claim adjuster. This information may then be compiled into acumulative rating for the adjuster to see via the adjuster's mobile app.

According to some embodiments, a software application will also have avisualizer administration application that shows the location of allclaims on a map with color coded regions around each claim reflectingthe amount of time the claim has remained open. Each claims adjusterusing the mobile application may, according to some embodiments,automatically report his or her current location using the GPS functionsof their smartphone. These locations may be received by an enterpriseapplication where they will be visible on a map in the form of a smallvehicle icon. A claims administrator could therefore have a wide-scaleview of all claims on a map (and may zoom in for a closer look at aparticular region). Details about a claims adjuster, or a particularclaim, may be retrieved by clicking on icons located on the map.

For example, FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate desktop insurance enterprisedisplays that might be associated with various embodiments. FIG. 11illustrates a desktop 1100 insurance enterprise display 1110 includingmap information. The display 1110 also includes options 1120 to select“Add Claim,” “Delete Claim,” “Geo-Fence Status,” “Start Geo-Service,”“Stop Geo-Service,” and “Modify Vehicle.” A vehicle icon 1130 isdisplayed for each claims adjuster in the area along with the locationsof each insurance claim (illustrated with an “X” in FIG. 11). Accordingto some embodiments, the automatic assignment of insurance claims toclaims adjusters includes establishing, for each location to be visited,a geo-fence region 1140 representing that location (e.g., indicating adistance from the claim, a time of travel from the claim, etc.).According to some embodiments a geo-fence region might be establishedfor each mobile unit. Note that a geo-fence might be established todefine a region based on or more of a location to be visited, apopulation density (e.g., with different sized regions being appropriatefor New York city as compared to Texas), a location density (e.g., whenan event causes a lot of claims to be simultaneously reported in anarea), a mobile unit density, and/or priority information (with higherpriority claim locations being given larger regions). Note that ageo-fence region could be calculated using distance information (e.g., adriving distance, as-the-crow-flies , etc.), time information (e.g., howlong it would take to a travel location based on traffic information,weather information, including moving weather conditions, speed limitinformation, etc. According to some embodiments a geo-fence might bedefined in accordance with jurisdiction information. For example, ageo-fence might intentionally exclude a neighboring state where aparticular claims adjuster is not licensed.

According to some embodiments, an insurance enterprise might select anicon to receive further information. For example, FIG. 12 is a desktop1200 insurance enterprise display 1210 including additional details 1220about a claims adjuster (e.g., his or her name, current location,status, and/or ETA).

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate tablet client displays in accordance withsome embodiments. In particular, FIG. 13 illustrates a table 1300 clientdisplay 1310 including map information. The display 1310 also includes avehicle icon 1320 for the assigned claims adjuster with the location ofthe insurance claim (illustrated with an “X” in FIG. 13). According tosome embodiments, client might select an icon to receive furtherinformation. For example, FIG. 14 is a tablet 1400 client display 1410including additional details 1420 about the assigned claims adjuster(e.g., his or her name, vehicle description, and/or ETA).

FIG. 15 illustrates a method 1500 according to some embodiments of thepresent invention. At S1510, the system may access an insurance claimdata store containing information about a set of claim locations to bevisited, including, for each location, a location identifier andlocation coordinates. At S1520 the system may prioritize the claimlocations (e.g., based on the size or estimated value of the claims, thetype of claim damage, the time the claim was submitted, etc.) and selecta claim adjuster (e.g., based on the priority information, geo-spatialregions, etc.). At S1530, the system transmits a request to that claimsadjuster smartphone application (e.g., via a push notification). If theclaims adjuster accepts the request at S1540, the insurance claim isplaced into his or her active work queue at S1550. If the claimsadjuster does not accept the request at S1540 (including by failing totransmit a response within a pre-determined period of time), thenext-best claims adjuster is selected at S1560 and the process continuesat S1530 by transmitted a request to that claims adjuster.

Embodiments described herein may comprise a tool that gives guidance anda suggested list of location and mobile using assignments and may beimplemented using any number of different hardware configurations. Forexample, FIG. 16 illustrates a back-end application computer server 1600that may be, for example, associated with the systems 100, 300 of FIGS.1 and 3, respectively. The back-end application computer server 1600comprises a processor 1610, such as one or more commercially availableCentral Processing Units (“CPUs”) in the form of one-chipmicroprocessors, coupled to a communication device 1620 configured tocommunicate via a communication network (not shown in FIG. 16). Thecommunication device 1620 may be used to communicate, for example, withone or more remote administrator or underwriter computers and/orcommunication devices (e.g., PCs and smartphones). Note thatcommunications exchanged via the communication device 1620 may utilizesecurity features, such as those between a public internet user and aninternal network of an insurance enterprise. The security features mightbe associated with, for example, web servers, firewalls, and/or PCIinfrastructure. The back-end application computer server 1600 furtherincludes an input device 1640 (e.g., a mouse and/or keyboard to enterinformation about locations, mobile units, decision making models, etc.)and an output device 1650 (e.g., to output requests, assignments,reports regarding system administration, etc.).

The processor 1610 also communicates with a storage device 1630. Thestorage device 1630 may comprise any appropriate information storagedevice, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g., a harddisk drive), optical storage devices, mobile telephones, and/orsemiconductor memory devices. The storage device 1630 stores a program1615 and/or a dispatch tool or application for controlling the processor1610. The processor 1610 performs instructions of the program 1615, andthereby operates in accordance with any of the embodiments describedherein. For example, the processor 1610 may automatically assignlocations to mobile units via an automated back-end application computerserver. In particular, the processor 1610 might access a location datastore containing information about a set of locations to be visited,including location identifiers and location coordinates. The processor1610 may then prioritize the locations to be visited and establish atleast one geo-fence to define a region. A mobile unit data store maycontain information about a set of mobile units, including mobile unitidentifiers, mobile unit location coordinates, and mobile unitcommunication address. The processor 1610 may then automatically assigneach location to a mobile unit based on the location coordinates, themobile unit location coordinates, the geo-fence, and saidprioritization. Indications of assigned locations may be transmitted toeach mobile unit via the associated mobile unit communication address,and electronic messages may be exchanged to support an interactive userinterface display associated with assignments of locations to mobileunits. According to some embodiments, the processor 1610 facilitates acollection of location data from the assigned mobile units.

The program 1615 may be stored in a compressed, uncompiled and/orencrypted format. The program 1615 may furthermore include other programelements, such as an operating system, a database management system,and/or device drivers used by the processor 1610 to interface withperipheral devices.

As used herein, information may be “received” by or “transmitted” to,for example: (i) the back-end application computer server 1600 fromanother device; or (ii) a software application or module within theback-end application computer server 1600 from another softwareapplication, module, or any other source.

In some embodiments (such as shown in FIG. 16), the storage device 1630further stores a location database 1700, a mobile unit database 1800,and an assignment database 1900. An example of databases that might beused in connection with the back-end application computer server 1600will now be described in detail with respect to FIGS. 17 through 19.Note that the databases described herein are only examples, andadditional and/or different information may be stored therein. Moreover,various databases might be split or combined in accordance with any ofthe embodiments described herein. For example, the location database1700 and/or mobile unit database 1800 might be combined and/or linked toeach other within the program 1615.

Referring to FIG. 17, a table is shown that represents the locationdatabase 1700 that may be stored at the back-end application computerserver 1600 according to some embodiments. The table may include, forexample, entries identifying locations to be visited by mobile units(e.g., in connection with insurance claims). The table may also definefields 1702, 1704, 1706, 1708, 1710, 1712 for each of the entries. Thefields 1702, 1704, 1706, 1708, 1710, 1712 may, according to someembodiments, specify: a location identifier 1702, location coordinates1704, an insurance policy identifier 1706, a claim identifier 1708, aclaim status 1710, and an assigned mobile unit 1712. The locationdatabase 1700 may be created and updated, for example, based oninformation electrically received from client devices, call centers,and/or insurance agents.

The location identifier 1702 may be, for example, a unique alphanumericcode identifying an insurance claim that is associated with the locationcoordinates (e.g., a building address, latitude and longitude values,etc.). The insurance policy number 1706, claim identifier 1708, andclaim status 1710 may provide the details about the insurance claim (orcontain pointers to electronic records storing details about theinsurance claim). The assigned mobile unit 1712 might represent aninsurance adjuster who has been assigned to visit the location and mightbe based on or associated with the mobile unit identifiers 1802 storedin the mobile unit database 1800.

Referring to FIG. 18, a table is shown that represents the mobile unitdatabase 1800 that may be stored at the back-end application computerserver 1600 according to some embodiments. The table may include, forexample, entries identifying mobile units that may visit locations. Thetable may also define fields 1802, 1804, 1806, 1808, 1810, 1812 for eachof the entries. The fields 1802, 1804, 1806, 1808, 1810, 1812 may,according to some embodiments, specify: mobile unit identifier 1802,location coordinates 1804, assigned location identifiers 1806, acommunication address 1808, vehicle data 1810, and a current rating1812. The mobile unit database 1800 may be created and updated, forexample, based on information electrically received from a claimsadjuster smartphone.

The mobile unit identifier 1802 may be, for example, a uniquealphanumeric code identifying a claims adjuster who is currently locatedat the location coordinates 1804. The assigned locations identifiers1806 might indicate his or her active work queue and may be based on orassociated with the location identifiers 1702 in the location database1700. The communication address 1808 might indicate how the claimsadjuster should receive requests and the vehicle data 1810 mightdescribe his or her vehicle (e.g., to help a client identify the claimsadjuster when he or she arrives at the location). The current rating1812 might comprise, for example, an average satisfaction valuerepresenting a number of client reviews (e.g., over the last month).

Referring to FIG. 19, a table is shown that represents the assignmentdatabase 1900 that may be stored at the back-end application computerserver 1600 according to some embodiments. The table may include, forexample, entries identifying insurance claims that have been assigned toclaims adjusters. The table may also define fields 1902, 1904, 1906,1908, 1910, 1912 for each of the entries. The fields 1902, 1904, 1906,1908, 1910, 1912 may, according to some embodiments, specify: anelectronic record identifier 1902, a location identifier 1904, a mobileunit identifier 1906, an estimated time of arrival 1908, a priority1910, and a status 1912. The supplemental review database 1900 may becreated and updated, for example, based on information electricallyreceived from a computer data store, a client, a mobile unit, and/or anadministrator.

The electronic record identifier 1902 may be, for example, a uniquealphanumeric code identifying an assignment that has been created by thesystem. The location identifier 1904 might comprise location coordinatesof an insurance claim and the mobile unit identifier 1906 might identifya claim adjuster who has been assigned to visit that claim location. Theestimated time of arrival 1908 might be a prediction of when the claimsadjuster will most likely arrive at the claim location. The priority1910 might indicate, for example, that the insurance claim is a “high”or “average” priority, a numerical value, etc. and may be used whenselecting locations to be assigned. The status 1912 might indicate thatthe insurance claim associated with the electronic record identifier1902 is open, assigned, in process, resolved, etc.

According to some embodiments, one or more predictive models, businesslogic, rules, or algorithms (e.g., decision models) may be used toselect, create, prioritize, route, and/or evaluate assignments. Featuresof some embodiments associated with a predictive model will now bedescribed by first referring to FIG. 20. FIG. 20 is a partiallyfunctional block diagram that illustrates aspects of a computer system2000 provided in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. Forpresent purposes it will be assumed that the computer system 2000 isoperated by an insurance company (not separately shown) for the purposeof supporting insurance claims adjusting.

The computer system 2000 includes a data storage module 2002. In termsof its hardware the data storage module 2002 may be conventional, andmay be composed, for example, by one or more magnetic hard disk drives.A function performed by the data storage module 2002 in the computersystem 2000 is to receive, store and provide access to both historicaltransaction data (reference numeral 2004) and current transaction data(reference numeral 2006). As described in more detail below, thehistorical transaction data 2004 is employed to train a predictive modelto provide an output that indicates an identified performance metric(e.g., whether a claims should be considered high priority) and/or analgorithm to score performance factors, and the current transaction data2006 is thereafter analyzed by the predictive model. Moreover, as timegoes by, and results become known from processing current transactions(e.g., client satisfaction results), at least some of the currenttransactions may be used to perform further training of the predictivemodel. Consequently, the predictive model may thereby appropriatelyadapt itself to changing conditions.

Either the historical transaction data 2004 or the current transactiondata 2006 might include, according to some embodiments, determinate andindeterminate data. As used herein and in the appended claims,“determinate data” refers to verifiable facts such as the an age of abusiness; an automobile type; a policy date or other date; a time ofday; a day of the week; a geographic location, address or ZIP code; anda policy number.

As used herein, “indeterminate data” refers to data or other informationthat is not in a predetermined format and/or location in a data recordor data form. Examples of indeterminate data include narrative speech ortext, information in descriptive notes fields and signal characteristicsin audible voice data files.

The determinate data may come from one or more determinate data sources2008 that are included in the computer system 2000 and are coupled tothe data storage module 2002. The determinate data may include “hard”data like a potential insured's name, date of establishment, industrycode, keywords and phrases, policy number, address, an underwriterdecision, etc. One possible source of the determinate data may be theinsurance company's policy database (not separately indicated).

The indeterminate data may originate from one or more indeterminate datasources 2010, and may be extracted from raw files or the like by one ormore indeterminate data capture modules 2012. Both the indeterminatedata source(s) 2010 and the indeterminate data capture module(s) 2012may be included in the computer system 2000 and coupled directly orindirectly to the data storage module 2002. Examples of theindeterminate data source(s) 2010 may include data storage facilitiesfor document images, for text files, and digitized recorded voice files.Examples of the indeterminate data capture module(s) 2012 may includeone or more optical character readers, a speech recognition device(i.e., speech-to-text conversion), a computer or computers programmed toperform natural language processing, a computer or computers programmedto identify and extract information from narrative text files, acomputer or computers programmed to detect key words in text files, anda computer or computers programmed to detect indeterminate dataregarding an individual.

The computer system 2000 also may include a computer processor 2014. Thecomputer processor 2014 may include one or more conventionalmicroprocessors and may operate to execute programmed instructions toprovide functionality as described herein. Among other functions, thecomputer processor 2014 may store and retrieve historical insurancetransaction data 2004 and current transaction data 2006 in and from thedata storage module 2002. Thus the computer processor 2014 may becoupled to the data storage module 2002.

The computer system 2000 may further include a program memory 2016 thatis coupled to the computer processor 2014. The program memory 2016 mayinclude one or more fixed storage devices, such as one or more hard diskdrives, and one or more volatile storage devices, such as RAM devices.The program memory 2016 may be at least partially integrated with thedata storage module 2002. The program memory 2016 may store one or moreapplication programs, an operating system, device drivers, etc., all ofwhich may contain program instruction steps for execution by thecomputer processor 2014.

The computer system 2000 further includes a predictive model component2018. In certain practical embodiments of the computer system 2000, thepredictive model component 2018 may effectively be implemented via thecomputer processor 2014, one or more application programs stored in theprogram memory 2016, and computer stored as a result of trainingoperations based on the historical transaction data 2004 (and possiblyalso data received from a third party). In some embodiments, dataarising from model training may be stored in the data storage module2002, or in a separate computer store (not separately shown). A functionof the predictive model component 2018 may be to determine appropriateinsurance claim assignments. The predictive model component may bedirectly or indirectly coupled to the data storage module 2002.

The predictive model component 2018 may operate generally in accordancewith conventional principles for mixed effect predictive models, except,as noted herein, for at least some of the types of data to which thepredictive model component is applied. Those who are skilled in the artare generally familiar with programming of predictive models. It iswithin the abilities of those who are skilled in the art, if guided bythe teachings of this disclosure, to program any type of predictivemodel, such as a fixed effect or mixed effect predictive model, tooperate as described herein.

Still further, the computer system 2000 includes a model trainingcomponent 2020. The model training component 2020 may be coupled to thecomputer processor 2014 (directly or indirectly) and may have thefunction of training the predictive model component 2018 based on thehistorical transaction data 2004 and/or information about potentialinsureds. (As will be understood from previous discussion, the modeltraining component 2020 may further train the predictive model component2018 as further relevant data becomes available.) The model trainingcomponent 2020 may be embodied at least in part by the computerprocessor 2014 and one or more application programs stored in theprogram memory 2016. Thus, the training of the predictive modelcomponent 2018 by the model training component 2020 may occur inaccordance with program instructions stored in the program memory 2016and executed by the computer processor 2014.

In addition, the computer system 2000 may include an output device 2022.The output device 2022 may be coupled to the computer processor 2014. Afunction of the output device 2022 may be to provide an output that isindicative of (as determined by the trained predictive model component2018) particular performance metrics, automatically flagged electronicrecords, etc. The output may be generated by the computer processor 2014in accordance with program instructions stored in the program memory2016 and executed by the computer processor 2014. More specifically, theoutput may be generated by the computer processor 2014 in response toapplying the data for the current simulation to the trained predictivemodel component 2018. The output may, for example, be a binary value, anumerical estimate, and/or likelihood within a predetermined range ofnumbers. In some embodiments, the output device may be implemented by asuitable program or program module executed by the computer processor2014 in response to operation of the predictive model component 2018.

Still further, the computer system 2000 may include a prioritization andassignment module 2024. The prioritization and assignment module 2024may be implemented in some embodiments by a software module executed bythe computer processor 2014. The prioritization and assignment module2024 may have the function of rendering a portion of the display on theoutput device 2022, transmitting requests, and/or routing certainelectronic records. Thus, the prioritization and assignment module 2024may be coupled, at least functionally, to the output device 2022 and/ora workflow router. In some embodiments, for example, the prioritizationand assignment module 2024 may report results and/or predictions byrouting, to claims adjuster 2028 via prioritization and assignmentplatform 2026, a location assignment request generated by the predictivemodel component 2018. In some embodiments, this information may beprovided to the claims adjuster 2028 who may also be tasked withdetermining how to proceed (e.g., by accepting or declining the locationrequest).

Thus, embodiments may provide an automated and efficient way to connectclaims adjusters, such as freelance claims adjusters, to insuranceclaims that have been reported based on their proximity (geo-location)and/or availability to commit. This may let a claims adjuster work formore than one insurance enterprise (and/or work for an insuranceenterprise without being a full time employee of the enterprise). Forexample, a claims adjuster might decide to add himself or herself to apool of currently available adjusters when convenient (e.g., theadjuster has free time). This pool might then be accessed by one or moreinsurance enterprises as appropriate to dynamically respond to incominginsurance claims as they occur. This may also effectively reduce thetime it takes to service a claim—especially in situations where there isa cluster of claims in a relatively short amount time (and the time toresolve a claim is critical to the safety and security of the client andthe preservation of assets). In addition, embodiments may let claimsadministrators visualize claim locations, thereby providing betterinsight into the extensiveness of damage resulting from a wide scaleevent. This information can also be utilized to determine an appropriatelevel of response. As a result, embodiments described herein may beespecially effective in situations where a natural disaster hasoccurred. Note that some embodiments described herein may furtherprovide savings on travel cost and time and increase customersatisfaction by providing expedient service to policyholders who reportclaims (e.g., same day service), and facilitate service improvementsthrough customer feedback.

The following illustrates various additional embodiments of theinvention. These do not constitute a definition of all possibleembodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand that thepresent invention is applicable to many other embodiments. Further,although the following embodiments are briefly described for clarity,those skilled in the art will understand how to make any changes, ifnecessary, to the above-described apparatus and methods to accommodatethese and other embodiments and applications.

Some embodiments have been described herein in connection with ahomeowners' insurance policy (with the location of the insurance claimbeing the address of the home). Note, however, that embodiments may beassociated with other types of insurance, including automobileinsurance, business insurance, etc. In the case of automobile insurance,an insurance claim's “location” might change based on where the vehicleis currently parked.

Although specific hardware and data configurations have been describedherein, note that any number of other configurations may be provided inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention (e.g., some of theinformation associated with the displays described herein might beimplemented as a windshield display or a virtual or augmented realitydisplay and/or any of the embodiments might be implemented using a cloudbased computing platform). Moreover, although embodiments have beendescribed with respect to particular types of communication addresses,embodiments may instead be associated with other types of communications(e.g., chat implementations, web-based messaging, etc.). Similarly,although certain types of priority values were described in connectionwith some embodiments, other types of data might be used instead. Stillfurther, the displays and devices illustrated herein are only providedas examples, and embodiments may be associated with any other types ofuser interfaces.

Note that embodiments described herein might be used in connection witha number of different types of business process flows. For example, FIG.21 illustrates an overall process 2100 in accordance with someembodiments. At S2110, information about a new insurance claim may bereceived from a client or an insurance agent. The information mightinclude, for example, a location, a type of damage, etc. At S2120, thesystem may determine an insurance policy identifier associated with theinsurance claim and update insurance claim information based oninsurance policy data (e.g., describing the types of coverage,deductibles, claim limits, etc.). At S2130, the system may usealgorithms, models, business logic and/or rules to prioritize a batch ofopen insurance claims and assign the claims to claims adjusters based onthe prioritization and location coordinates. That is, a claims adjustermight be assigned to an insurance claim that is not the insurance claimat the geographically closest location (because it has a higher priorityas compared to the claim at the closest location). At S2140, the systemmay receive claims adjuster notes when he or she visits the location ofthe insurance claim. The notes might include a description of an event,pictures showing damage, etc. At S2150, the insurance claim may beresolved, the result may be transmitted to the client (along withpayment if appropriate), and the system may evaluate the algorithms(e.g., on a periodic basis to determine if the algorithms may beimproved).

The present invention has been described in terms of several embodimentssolely for the purpose of illustration. Persons skilled in the art willrecognize from this description that the invention is not limited to theembodiments described, but may be practiced with modifications andalterations limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A system to automatically assign locations to mobileunits via an automated back-end application computer server, comprising:(a) a location data store containing information about a set oflocations to be visited, including, for each location to be visited, alocation identifier and location coordinates; (b) a mobile unit datastore containing information about a set of mobile units, including, foreach mobile unit, a mobile unit identifier, mobile unit locationcoordinates, and a mobile unit communication address; (c) the back-endapplication computer server, coupled to the location and mobile unitdata stores, programmed to: (i) access the information about the set oflocations to be visited, (ii) prioritize the set of locations to bevisited, (iii) access the information about the set of mobile units,(iv) establish at least one geo-fence defining a region, (v)automatically assign each location to a mobile unit based at least inpart on the location coordinates, the mobile unit location coordinates,the geo-fence, and said prioritization, and (vi) transmit indications ofassigned locations to be visited to each mobile unit via the associatedmobile unit communication address; and (d) a communication port coupledto the back-end application computer server to facilitate an exchange ofelectronic messages, via a distributed communication network, supportingat least one interactive user interface display associated withassignments of locations to mobile units, wherein the back-endapplication computer server facilitates a collection of location datafrom the assigned mobile units.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein thecommunication address is associated with at least one of: (i) a mobiletelephone number, (ii) a vehicle identifier, (iii) a user identifier,(iv) an Internet Protocol address, and (v) a device identifierassociated with a push message registration.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein at least one of the location coordinates and the mobile unitlocation coordinates are associated with at least one of: (i) a postaladdress, (ii) a ZIP code, (iii) Global Positioning System information,(iv) latitude and longitude values, and (v) mobile telephone locationdata.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein said assigning includestransmitting a first assignment request to a first mobile unit and, ifthe first mobile unit accepts the first request, assigning the locationto be visited to the first mobile unit, and further wherein, if thefirst mobile unit does not accept the first request, transmitting asecond assignment request to a second mobile unit.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein a geo-fence is associated with at least one of: (i) alocation to be visited, (ii) a population density, (iii) a locationdensity, (iv) a mobile unit density, and (v) priority information. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein at least one geo-fence region iscalculated using at least one of: (i) distance information, (ii) timeinformation, (iii) traffic information, (iv) weather information, (v)speed limit information, and (vi) jurisdiction information.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the back-end application computer server isfurther programmed to calculate an estimated time of mobile unit arrivalfor each location to be visited, and further wherein each location to bevisited is associated with an insurance claim submitted by a client ofan insurance enterprise, and each mobile unit is associated with aclaims adjuster.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said prioritizationis based on at least one of: (i) an average claim value for a givenarea, (ii) an estimated claim value, (iii) a claim value weighting, (iv)an average damage weighting, (v) a damage weighting, (vi) a damage valueweighting, (vii) an average claim open time, (viii) a time claim open,and (ix) a time open weighting.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein theinteractive user interface display is associated with the client whosubmitted the insurance claim and includes a map containing informationabout the claims adjuster assigned to the insurance claim, whereinselection of an icon associated with the claims adjuster results in adisplay of detailed information about that claims adjuster.
 10. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the interactive user interface display isassociated with the claim adjuster and includes a map containinginformation about a plurality of insurance claims, wherein selection ofan icon associated with a particular insurance claim results in adisplay of detailed information about that particular insurance claim.11. The system of claim 7, wherein the interactive user interfacedisplay is associated with the insurance enterprise and includes a mapcontaining information about a plurality of claims adjusters, whereinselection of an icon associated with a particular claims adjusterresults in a display of detailed information about that particularclaims adjuster.
 12. The system of claim 7, wherein the back-endapplication computer server is further to receive, from each client,rating information about the assigned claims adjuster.
 13. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the back-end application computer server is further toreceive, from each claims adjuster, insurance claim informationincluding at least one of: (i) text comprising insurance claim notes,(ii) images, (iii) audio information, (iv) video information, (v)environmental quality information, and (vi) weather information.
 14. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein information about insurance claims isdynamically collected via at least one of: (i) an email received by anemail server, (ii) information provided a web interface, (iii) aninteractive voice response system associated with a telephone callcenter, (iv) a chat application that interacts with a party insubstantially real time, and (v) a video link.
 15. The system of claim7, wherein, after insurance claims are resolved, the back-endapplication computer server is further to periodically monitorperformance outcomes and automatically adjust a prioritizationalgorithm.
 16. The system of claim 7, wherein each insurance claim isassociated with an event, and further wherein the back-end applicationserver access pre-event insurance policy information, transmits thepre-event insurance policy insurance information to the assigned mobileunit, and receives, from the assigned mobile unit, post-event locationdata representing damage caused by the event.
 17. The system of claim 1,wherein a mobile device might be associated with: (i) a smartphone, (ii)a mobile computer, (iii) a table computer, (iv) an on-board vehiclediagnosis plug-in device, (v) a built-in dashboard display, (vi) aflying drone, (vii) a self-driving vehicle, (viii) a smart watch, (ix) apair of smart eyeglasses, (x) an augmented reality device, (xi) anInternet of Things (“IoT”) device, (xii) a health monitoring device, and(xiii) a network-connected device able to approximate and report acurrent location.
 18. A computerized method to automatically assignlocations to mobile units via an automated back-end application computerserver, comprising: accessing a location data store containinginformation about a set of locations to be visited, including, for eachlocation to be visited, a location identifier and location coordinates;prioritizing, by the back-end application computer server, the set oflocations to be visited; accessing a mobile unit data store containinginformation about a set of mobile units, including, for each mobileunit, a mobile unit identifier, mobile unit location coordinates, andmobile unit communication address; establishing at lease one geo-fencedefining a region; automatically assigning, by the back-end applicationcomputer server, each location to a mobile unit based at least in parton the location coordinates, the mobile unit location coordinates, thegeo-fence, and said prioritization; transmitting indications of assignedlocations to be visited to each mobile unit via the associated mobileunit communication address; and exchanging electronic messages, via adistributed communication network, to support at least one interactiveuser interface display associated with assignments of locations tomobile units.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein each location to bevisited is associated with an insurance claim submitted by a client ofan insurance enterprise, and each mobile unit is associated with aclaims adjuster.
 20. A system to automatically assign locations tomobile units via an automated back-end application computer server,comprising: (a) a location data store containing information about a setof locations to be visited, including, for each location to be visited,a location identifier and location coordinates; (b) a mobile unit datastore containing information about a set of mobile units, including, foreach mobile unit, a mobile unit identifier, mobile unit locationcoordinates, and a mobile unit communication address; (c) the back-endapplication computer server, coupled to the location and mobile unitdata stores, programmed to: (i) access the information about the set oflocations to be visited, (ii) prioritize the set of locations to bevisited, (iii) access the information about the set of mobile units,(iv) establish at least one geo-fence defining a region, (v)automatically assign each location to a mobile unit based at least inpart on the location coordinates, the mobile unit location coordinates,the geo-fence, and said prioritization, and (vi) transmit indications ofassigned locations to be visited to each mobile unit via the associatedmobile unit communication address; and (d) a communication port coupledto the back-end application computer server to facilitate an exchange ofelectronic messages, via a distributed communication network, supportingat least one interactive user interface display associated withassignments of locations to mobile units, wherein the interactive userinterface display is associated with an insurance enterprise andincludes a map containing information about a plurality of claimsadjusters, wherein selection of an icon associated with a particularclaims adjuster results in a display of detailed information about thatparticular claims adjuster.